There are a few. Orion Atlas EQ-G is one. The advantage of the Atlas is that it's quieter and can use EQMOD (for laptop control of pointing). The CGEM has better native hand controller firmware and is about $100 less expensive new.

I'm assuming that you really want GOTO. The Vixen Sphinx SXW with Starbook is another option, but is $500 more expensive and I really don't like Starbook. I wish Vixen would come up with a standard hand controller like Celestron, Meade, Synta, Astro-Physics, etc.

Of course, the CGEM is a lot of mount for the svelte TV-102. You could get by with a lot less (costly and massive) mount. The Celestron CG5-GT, for example, is more than enough and is less than $600. It has the same great hand controller firmware as the CGEM at a fraction of the price. It also draws a lot less juice, using less battery. It is noisy as heck, however.

I just got a CGEM this week for my Stellarvue 90. I know it's overkill but I wanted something that would guide like a rock while doing long exposures. I had that Raptor up on top of my Meade SCT long enough. Now I want some serious guiding and I am convinced that this mount can do it.

Also now I have plenty of room to grow as far as the refractor goes. I don't think my 10" Meade Lx200 is a good fit for this mount though, so I will continue to use it on the wedge. Perhaps someday I'll be able to get a better mount for the Lx200 also but for now I am satisfied that this CGEM will take great care of the refractor.

I like my CGEM and TV 102. I painted it blue because I don't like green. The views are terrific and this mount and scope combination does a fine job. I also use it as an auto tracker for DSLR piggybacking.

Lots of fun;Steve Coe

Attached Files

The CGEM being overkill for the TV102 is okay as I may mount other scopes on it. At present, I do want GOTO, but am not concerned with laptop pointing. That may change though. Is the CGEM not laptop-friendly?

Shortly after I bought my TV102, I bought a nice sturdy GEM for it. It was a Losmandy GM8. It seldom gets used. Too heavy to go out the door in one piece (talkin' just the mount), too much hassle to set up, too many wires. Too much of everything. As a result, neither mount nor scope saw much use.

Finally tried an older Orion SVP with the skinny tubular legs and then an even lighter CG5 that I re-mounted on the skinny Orion legs. Now I've got something that handles the TV102 quite well for visual while being light enough for an easy trip to the back yard. As a result, the scope gets used whenever there's opportunity.

I think I could take scope and mount out in one trip if I didn't care about occasionally bumping the door frame. Should probably sell the GM8. It hasn't been used in years. But I keep thinking I'll get a 5 incher someday.Bob